


Echo

by jenni3penny



Series: Cherry Wood and Whiskey [17]
Category: NCIS
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-18
Updated: 2019-11-18
Packaged: 2021-02-12 14:20:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,581
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21477760
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jenni3penny/pseuds/jenni3penny
Summary: "They made such a beautiful echo of a memory, the two of them, and she wondered how many times Shannon had just stopped and watched him with their daughter…". Ellie ends up crashing Thanksgiving dinner
Relationships: Jethro Gibbs/Jacqueline "Jack" Sloane
Series: Cherry Wood and Whiskey [17]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1464682
Comments: 30
Kudos: 106





	Echo

She was sorta cute, all mussed and sleepy, hair wild and glasses pushed up into the wavy blonde riot. Not that he would ever call her "cute" outloud. But she fit the bill, damn near perfect, even at nearly midnight. Maybe especially then.

"What the hell're you doing?"

His body groaned its helpless disagreement as he toed his shoes on, only half awake himself and enjoying the sight she made in the entry-way. "Bishop just called."

There was no mistaking the fact that she'd been well put to bed hours before, her make-up smudged and hair tousled up, body all pink and lips still swollen from the way he had so often roughed his mouth to hers.

He had curled her close and lulled her to sleep before she could get too awfully far into her nighttime bathroom ritual and he affectionately watched her rub at her makeup. He'd pay for that in the morning, when she realized. Still, she was still only dressed in her panties and her own FLETC t-shirt, her elbows tucked in and arms over her breasts for warmth, and it was entirely worth the sleepy image she made.

There were still reddened marks along her thighs, the ghosted reminders of his hands and where they'd gripped onto her as he'd come. Jesus, he wanted nothing more than to just get on his knees and pray his apologetic lips across her pelvis before putting his mouth between her thighs. The way she shivered made it look like she knew it, too. He reminded himself (and his ego) that she was likely just cold. The weather had been mean all evening into night, brutal and flashing icy rain against the windows.

"She should be halfway to - "

"Grounded," he cut in quietly, the pelting sleet underscoring his reply. "She's still sitting at Dulles."

"You're going out in this?"

"Truck's got four wheel drive," he shrugged off, letting her fuss at the hem of his jacket and tug the zipper together. Gibbs hid the smirk that he knew was gaining on him as much as he could, watching her tug the zipper tag up with force and pout. "Some of us aren't scared of the snow, _California_."

"It's not the snow that grounded the flight, _jackass_. There's more than half an inch of ice out there already."

And it was only bound to get worse. That's what she hadn't said, what they both knew. Didn't matter how dodgy the trip to the airport was because the trip back was likely to be worse and especially in the dark. He knew as much, even as he cast a glance out the frosted window and gave the ice chipping at it a patented Gibbsian glare.

_Still_… "Not leavin' her sitting there by herself, Jack. Almost Thanksgiving."

She just nodded her understanding, nothing else necessary. "Please be careful."

"You _know_ I'm bringin' her here."

"I doubt seeing you in husband mode is going to bother her, Gibbs. She's all grown up." She bounced on her toes as though she'd remembered something and reached out for him at once, tugging his jacket sleeve. "Take some coffee with you."

He smirked into her frenetic fussing, a brow arched as he studied her from near the door, already dressed and ready to leave. Gibbs exhaled hard, bemused as his shoulders went loose.

She caught sight of his grin as it widened out, slapping against him as embarrassment flushed her cheeks. "For _her_, smartass. It's been a long day."

"She'll be just fine," he said, reaching for the door but grazing her jaw with a kiss before turning the handle. "But _you're_ gonna enjoy this way too much."

Her fingers caught at his coat and tugged again in emphasis. "It'll be like a _real_ family Thanksgiving. Oh, can't we keep her, Gibbs? _Please_??"

"If you're gonna wait up then go put some pants on at least."

***

He appreciated the fact that it was Ellie who had called him for help because, generally, she knew when to shut the hell up. _Generally_…

"I'm really sorry, Gibbs."

"It's fine," he muttered through his teeth, eyes still tracking the median line of the road while the windshield wipers did a lackluster job at keeping things visible. Not that they had much chance against the wind-whipped sleet and star-less night.

He felt her fidget in her seat, her packed carry-on wedged between the feet and her cell phone pressed flat between gloved hands. Her attention was almost as hawkish as his, eyes on the road and shoulders up tight, near to her ears.

The parka she was wearing wasn't familiar to him and its puffiness had dwarfed her as he'd met her outside of airport security. The faux fur trimmed hood had almost brought a smirk to his lips but she'd been so obviously dejected, so frustrated, he couldn't bring himself to smile.

She shifted in her seat again, this time pressing forward slightly as she tracked the same line in the light of his high beams. "Was Jack mad?"

He didn't lose focus, answering in a hush. "Jack doesn't get mad."

"She really doesn't..." she realized aloud, flinching slightly when they slicked over a patch of ice and drifted toward the other lane. He recovered as quickly as he could without spinning the truck like a drunken teacup. "This is different, though."

"This is what we do, Bishop." _For family_… "Call her and let her know we're headed back, wouldja?"

"That won't distract you?"

His jaw clenched as the back end of the truck went a little squirrelly around a shallowly banked corner. "_Bishop_."

"_I'm_ distracting you," she whispered as she tugged a glove off and finger-tapped her phone to life, instantly lowering the screen's brightness. "Got it, sorry."

_Generally_ she knew when to shut the hell up… And when she didn't at least he knew how to make use of his back up.

He heard Jack's warm voice as she answered, just barely, exhaling his stress over the steering wheel as he refocused on the road.

***

They weren't nearly as quiet as they thought they were being and Ellie rubbed her cheek against the back of her hand as she watched them, burrowing deeper beneath the thick plaid comforter that Jack had given her the night before.

It was so obvious now that Jack had made a home for them in his house, though the changes were mostly minute (besides the updated kitchen), and almost unnoticeable. The weighty comforter and two plush pillows over top of a high thread count sheet was certainly more decadent than the throw pillow and raggedy blanket Gibbs had tossed at her on other nights. She snuggled deeper into the warm depth of her cocoon, not even trying to hide her smile as she caught the bright strike of Jack's laughter from the kitchen.

She had a perfect line of sight from the couch, trapped in the early morning haze that slanted through the house. Gibbs teased at Jack near the fridge, one of his hands very clearly knotted into the oversized sweater she'd pulled on over leggings, keeping her close. His mouth was roaming just under her ear and Ellie felt her jaw start to ache from the width of her own grin.

Sloane's palm slid up the back off his head and cradled him closer into a soft and possessive kiss and Ellie realized that it was the singular most sensual movement she had seen Jack make on him since they'd been outed.

She fell for their happiness almost instantly, drawing the pillow down farther under her jaw as she sighed. The kiss was brief enough that the voyeuristic feeling she almost started to get dissipated easily.

A few whispers passed between them, close and inaudible, purposely private. She realized very suddenly that they obviously knew she was awake, just a moment before Jack smiled and lifted her head, the hand with her wedding ring brushing down his cheek. "Eleanor? Coffee?"

Her whole body shrugged, a smile on her lips as she kept herself tucked in. "Yes, please."

For one millisecond moment, brief but true, she felt younger, child-like, especially when he finally turned and cocked her a half grin. "Potato duty today, Bishop."

"Yes, sir."

***

It didn't matter how long it had been, the basement always smelled the same, felt the same. It was always sawdust and grit under her socked feet, the smell of heat on wood, strong varnish, a chilly floor and cool shadows. She suddenly appreciated the woolen socks Jack had tossed her earlier all the more.

"Thought you were on KP," Gibbs said to the side, chisel in hand and angled shallow. His other hand was guarding and guiding the movement as he carved deeper into some scroll work. "The Lieutenant wash you out?"

"She sent me down with this." Ellie lifted both coffee mugs as she headed toward the work bench, setting them down before she grabbed for his stool and plopped onto it. "You really call her _Lieutenant_?"

"Well, she was gettin' touchy about being called 'The War Department'."

Her grin was instantaneous and thinned her eyes as she snorted, bemused. He still hadn't moved away from the intricate carving he was doing but she saw him blink a look at his coffee and then back. "You sound like my dad."

His mouth twitched on a half smirk before his face went passive again, features flat. "How are they doing without you?"

"Mom's pretty bummed. One of my brothers is MIA too," she responded, feeling her voice trail off into a less energetic shush. It sounded to her about as sullen as her own mother's had on the phone hours before. Ellie took a deep breath into her lungs, noting the way he paused his movements still and flicked a hooded look up at her then back down before continuing. "What's that gonna be?"

Gibbs loosened the locked way he'd been holding the chisel and set it aside, one hand reaching for his coffee while the other went blindly searching under the bench. "Cross rail to the back of a chair. Working on Jack's - "

"Dining set. Right," she interrupted, smirking into a quiet conspiracy with him as he made a show of lifting a secreted bottle of whiskey, eyeing the stairs before he cracked the cap on it. "She may have mentioned it."

Gibbs poured a quick and light shot into his coffee, taste testing it before he spoke again. "She's thrilled to have you here, y'know? I mean, I know you're homesick, but - "

"I'm lucky to be here," she interrupted, negating his attempt to soften her situation. Ellie shook her head and waved it off, leaning into the edge of the work bench and closer to him. Her shoulder bent into a shrug, "I love you guys."

He grinned in answer, not quite meeting her eyes even as the smile brightened his face. Instead he reached forward with the bottle and tipped the mouth of it right to the edge of her cup, giving her a generous shot of whiskey too. "You're pretty loved around here too, Bishop."

***

He never talked about his daughter, really, and she rarely asked him to - but she couldn't help but think of Kelly when he made Eleanor laugh over the food laden dining table. The both of them had gotten caught up in their inside joke, snared together in teasing and playfulness and she sighed against the lip of her wine glass and watched them.

They made such a beautiful echo of a memory, the two of them, and she wondered how many times Shannon had just stopped and watched him with their daughter… Jack took another swallow of wine when Ellie's iconic laugh filled the room, his blue eyes lifting in her direction.

Bishop wasn't Kelly, though… And she wasn't Shannon. And the man across the table from her was worlds apart from what he had been.

She liked her version of him too much to gamble on what he could have been.

***

"I like you."

He appreciated her saying it aloud but he didn't necessarily need the narration when she wrapped herself so possessively around his arm and slumped into his right side. Her affection was pretty blatant, the explanation hadn't been necessary.

"That the wine talkin'?" Gibbs asked, hands wrist deep in a sink of near scalding water and dirty dishes.

"We speak the same language," she hummed up at him, her words song-like and soft. "Like you two weren't a couple shots in by the time you got to the dinner table."

"Hey, Gibbs?" Ellie's voice interrupted tentatively from behind, light and mostly pleasant as she leaned in the doorway, fiddling her cell in her hand.

"Yeah?" he asked back, his right side getting affectionately pulled downward, slanting to meet the way Jack was wrapped at his arm and tugging.

"Think you could run me home in the morning?"

He half turned his head, just barely catching the way his wife's eyes sparked brighter in pleasure and excitement. "Yeah, sure."

"In the morning?" Jack murmured quietly into his arm, amused and cuddling closer as Ellie moved back into the living room. "She's staying tonight too?"

"I'm gonna find us a movie!"

He blinked at the way the younger agent had volleyed the comment completely across the downstairs before giving Jack a half smirk. "Apparently."

"I like that," she sighed out, turning her cheek to his arm and nuzzling closer. Her fingertips fiddled their way up the inner fabric of his sleeve, catching it and bunching it up. He felt her almost sway and chuckled, shaking his head as he turned another plate over into the rinse sink.

"There anything about today you don't like?"

"The calories?" she laughed out, swinging him slightly. "Buffalo getting hijacked by the Refs?"

"You gonna start in on that again?" Gibbs feigned an exasperated groan, even if he did agree with her.

Jack smiled as she lifted up on her toes, socked feet sliding a little on the kitchen tile as she kissed just before his ear. "You like me too, admit it."

He just gave up a shrug and dunked his hands deeper into hot dishwater. "Maybe a little."

"Maybe a little," she mimicked, rolling her eyes at him as she played at using the same tone.

She didn't expect the splash of water to the face, obviously. But he did expect the sputtered laugh that came after and the short tussle that led to their hands knotted up between them and locked up into the center of his chest.

Gibbs dropped a sharp kiss against her lips, making her squint and smirk at once, making him want to do it again and again. "Maybe a lot."

He suddenly thought of their wedding day, watching a stray droplet of water roll down her cheek as she grinned. "I know. You want popcorn?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Then get off me," she teased, wriggling free from his wet hands before she landed a slap against his ass and laughed her way across the kitchen. "Don't make me call back up."

He just flicked a spray of water across the kitchen, grinning uncontrollably as she squealed laughter and he caught sight of Ellie's comforted smile from the doorway.

"You two are incorrigible."

He just shook his head, lowering his tone and giving the younger of the two a flat glance, "Don't you dare help her."

"Sorry, Gibbs. Us girls've gotta stick together."


End file.
